veličina fonta

verzija za štampu

copyright

pošalji komentar

Lalovic and Skiljevic: High Standards of Medical Treatment in Kula

Lalovic i Skiljevic

11 March 2010  Slavko Zdrale, former Director of Kasindol hospital, says there was a dispensary which applied "high standards" in Kula Penal and Correctional Facility, adding that prisoners were taken to hospital if necessary.

"The prison management asked me to check the conditions in the dispensary in Kula. I state, with full responsibility, that the dispensary functioned absolutely well," Zdrale said, testifying for the Defence of indictee Skiljevic.

The Prosecution of Bosnia and Herzegovina charges Soniboj Skiljevic and Radoje Lalovic with having supervised the detention conditions and made decisions pertaining to the daily regime to be followed by detainees in Kula Penal and Correctional Facility. The indictment alleges that detainees lost weight and were deprived of medical assistance, which caused the death of some of them.

The indictment further alleges that Lalovic was Kula Manager until the end of 1992. His former Deputy Skiljevic took over the function of Manager after the first indictee had left and performed this function until the end of 1995.

The witness, who was Director of Kasindol hospital from 1992 to 2006, said detainees from Kula Facility were brought to the hospital to receive medical assistance, adding that they were "treated in the same way as all other patients".

"We treated all of them as patients. It was our duty to help everybody in the same way. (...) When Kula Facility staff members brought detainees to the hospital, they were not handcuffed. If they had to stay in the hospital, the guards did not stay with them. They were not watched by anyone. All the patients stayed in the same conditions," Zdrale said, adding that some patients from Kula were "taken to other medical centers" in Pale, Sokolac and Lukavica, if necessary.

The Defence presented the witness with a list of 32 Kula detainees, who received medical assistance in the Kasindol hospital during the course of the war. The witness confirmed the authenticity of the list, saying that the number of prisoners who received medical assistance was "far bigger".

Zdrale recalled the conditions in Kula Facility were "far better than the conditions in the hospital". He said they often received food from Kula and used their washing machines. As stated by the witness, the prison premises were heated, so patients "asked if they could continue their medical treatment in Kula Facility" when the weather was cold.

The trial is due to continue on March 17, 2010.